The New Lotus
by Ethan L
Summary: Five years after the war, Aang has truly mastered being the avatar, Toph might become the first Earth Queen, Zuko has saved the dragons from extinction, Sokka is a general, and Katara is an ambassador.  probably Taang & Zutara  R
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One** – Arrival

Aang rose from the ground slowly, breathing deeply as he moved. He finally understood what it meant to be the avatar; what it meant for everything to be connected.

_I am the most powerful person in the world._

The monks would have frowned on such thoughts, but he decided a little ego never hurt anyone. He looked up at the blue sky, so close it almost seemed he could touch it. He reached up, feeling the heat from the sun, the sway of the breeze, the pull of the earth, and the tickle of the clouds that were just barely close enough for him to feel the water inside. He was one with the elements and they were one in him.

"This feels great!" he cried. He was smiling as he looked at the scroll that he had kept beside him for so long.

_Aang, we will be waiting for you the day after the solstice. When you arrive in Ba Sing Se come directly to the Jasmine Dragon for our first meeting. _

The note was in Katara's writing and he was eager to see how she had changed in five years. Five years. It had taken him so long to master what he now saw as so simple.

Aang fell into a low crouch with one foot slightly forward and the other slightly back. He closed his eyes and reached for his bond with the earth, with gravity itself. When he found it, he began moving his hands slowly as he formed lightning on his fingertips. When the lightning reached its peak, he tenderly pushed away the pull of gravity, releasing himself from the earth completely and redirected the lightning so that it was travelling along every inch of his skin.

Aang jumped. Without the pull of gravity and his natural ability as an airbender to negate wind resistance, he was better than weightless. The power of the lightning shot him across the sky with such speed it was almost like he was teleporting.

The technique was particularly dangerous due to the chance of losing control of the lightning, but as he flew across the sky he continued to circulate a thin layer of water over his skin to prevent the lightning from burning him.

He was one with the elements and they were one in him.

As he slowed down, he would simply conjure more lightning and push himself forward with a mixture of lightning and airbending. The result was a deafening boom after every movement and speed like he had never felt before.

* * *

On the other side of the world in Ba Sing Se, Katara sat in the Jasmine Dragon with Sokka. She sighed as her brother caught sight of his reflection in a teapot and smiled at his own image. Toph had arrived only to be called away instantly, but she promised to return within an hour. Zuko and Aang were nowhere to be found.

"Katara!" Sokka yelled despite the fact that they were barely more than a foot apart. A nearby guard who happened to be taking a short break in the teashop eyed them angrily.

"What Sokka?" Katara snapped. "And keep your voice down."

"I just realized," he said as he held up his hands for silence. "I'm-,"

"Save it," Toph said, appearing from nowhere. She punched Sokka in the arm and sat next to Katara.

"How did it go?" Katara asked her. They had both already forgotten that Sokka had been speaking and chose to ignore his disappointed stuttering.

"I eventually gave up and told the Earth King that if he wanted Bumi to stop terrorizing Bosco, he would just have to name me as his heir and be done with the whole thing."

"How did he take that?"

"He ordered me to lead an attack against Bumi," Toph replied simply as if attacking a friend was the most normal thing in the world.

"You're crazy!" Sokka shouted. They all ignored the determined cough from the nearby guard.

"What did you do then?" Katara stammered. Toph grinned in the direction of Katara's voice.

"I turned to my men, told them good luck, and I walked out of the room. I'm pretty sure Bumi will have put them all into steel coffins by now."

"Yeah," Sokka mused. "Teaching a psychopath how to metalbend was not your best call."

At that moment a guard ran in, nearly swearing in distress. He ran to the guard sitting a few tables away and slammed into his table.

"We need help," he wheezed. "Something's coming!"

As the two guards ran outside, Sokka and Katara looked at each other in confusion. Toph laughed and jumped to her feet. She cracked her knuckles and began walking outside without waiting for her companions.

"I guess we should at least go see," Katara said as she rose to her feet. Sokka hopped up and they walked out together.

* * *

Zuko waited patiently. He was supposed to be at the Jasmine Dragon by now, but the mate of his pet dragon had just laid her eggs and he wanted to make sure she was okay before he left.

When she fell asleep with her body circled around the eggs to keep them warm, he knew it would be okay. He whistled for Ryuu, the first of his pet dragons and the only one he trusted enough to fly with.

The silver dragon arrived almost instantly and swirled and the Firelord in excitement. Zuko climbed onto the top of the dragon's neck where it was the safest to fly.

"You ready boy?" Zuko asked. The dragon roared in delight as it released a jet of flames into the air before slapping its tail against the ground and leaping into the sky. They flew quickly and within an hour he could see the outline of Ba Sing Se in the distance. He also noticed a strange bolt of lightning that seemed to move steadily closer to the city. His heart thumped wildly for a second as he remembered back to when Azula had hit him with lightning. Without Katara there to heal him he probably would have died.

_Without Katara there, Azula would have shot at you and you would have simply redirected it._

Zuko hated arguing with himself because even in his own mind he always seemed to be wrong about something.

"Speed up Ryuu," Zuko called. "I want to reach Ba Sing Se before that lightning does."

The reason Zuko had come to trust and love Ryuu was how well the dragon listened. Almost instantly Zuko felt the chance of speed and they were rocketing toward Ba Sing Se so fast the sound of rushing wind was hurting his ears.

He soon realized that even at full speed, Ryuu was not fast enough to outrun lightning. The strange thing was that when the lightning crashed down against the wall of Ba Sing Se, Zuko could see a person standing right where it had struck.

"Oh no," Zuko whispered, amazed that there was lightning on such a clear day and even more amazed that it had managed to hit someone. He finally reached the wall just in time to realize that the person seemed fine. He had a thin plume of steam rising from his skin, but other than that there was nothing unordinary.

Zuko had Ryuu land just in case the man needed help before realizing who he had been looking at the whole time. Before Ryuu had even touched down, Zuko had leapt off his back and ran to Aang. The Avatar turned around and grinned ear to ear.

They hugged but seemed to not know what to say to each other for a moment. Aang's eyes fell on Ryuu just as Zuko put all the pieces together.

"You have a dragon?"

"You can turn into lightning?" They said in unison.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two** – Peacekeeping

Toph knew the moment he landed on the wall. The shift in the earth was so strange; something she had always known was there but had never recognized. She punched Sokka in the arm when he reached her, more out of habit than anything.

"What was that for?" He complained. His muscles didn't do him any good if he couldn't fight back.

"Aang is on the city wall," she hissed.

"That's Aang?" Katara asked. There was a strange tremor in her voice.

"Have I ever been wrong Sweetness?" Toph snapped.

"But that's where the lightning just hit," Sokka said. "We should go check it out."

Before they could move, they heard an explosion followed by terrified screams as a massive stone structure that seemed to be a statue of Toph appeared by the palace. There were so many vibrations moving through the earth that Toph almost got dizzy watching it all. People were running away while guards were running in circles, not sure if they should determine the state of the lightning or run to the aide of their Earth King.

"Everyone to the palace!" Toph yelled, instantly taking control. She grabbed Sokka and Katara and pushed them toward the castle. "Aang can wait. Bumi may have gotten too excited."

* * *

When they arrived at the palace, Sokka let Katara and Toph do their own thing. This fight would be for the benders which meant that his job would be to secure the safety of the Earth King.

Sokka grabbed a stray soldier who looked more lost than a blind person in a library.

_Sorry Toph._

"Come with me soldier," Sokka said. "You and I are going to rescue the Earth King."

The soldier followed dutifully, happy that someone was finally giving him an order. Sokka didn't understand how some people could be so clueless.

They moved through a hallway that Sokka knew would take them in a circle around the throne room. When they reached what Sokka assumed was the right spot he pointed at the wall.

"Earthbend a small hole in that wall," Sokka said. "And be quiet!"

"Yes sir," the soldier grunted as he stepped up to the wall and punched out a small hole. Sokka looked through it and punched the air.

"Yes! I was right," he said. He could see Toph and Katara leading an attack against Bumi who had decided to hold the Earth King prisoner. Bumi had managed to earthbend a group of stone soldiers that had no trouble holding off the rescue team. Bumi cackled with glee when Toph broke through and ran forward. They met in the middle and soon the palace was shaking from constant earthquakes.

Sokka stepped back and grabbed the soldier again.

"Okay," he said. "Now make a hole big enough for me to fit through."

The soldier did it instantly, only to get attacked by one of the stone soldiers that Bumi was still controlling, despite fighting with Toph. Sokka's space sword sliced right through the stone and onward they moved.

When they reached King Kuei Sokka realized that Bumi had trapped him to his throne with metal bending. After inspecting the chair for a moment Sokka grabbed the soldier once more.

"Earthbend the chair so that the armrests crumble away and King Kuei can get his hands out."

"You're going to destroy my throne?" the Earth King asked. Bosco was only a short distance away, but his paws were earthbent into the ground.

"And free Bosco," Sokka snapped. He turned back to the fight, trying to see if Toph had managed to beat the crazy old man yet.

"Their free sir," the soldier said. "Should I try to help them?"

"No anyone who gets in the way of those two will probably just be used as a shield."

Just as Sokka was about to pull the Earth King back out of the room, Aang appeared with Zuko right behind him.

* * *

Aang had told Zuko to find the Earth King and get him to safety, but when they got into the throne room he saw that Sokka had already beat them to it. Aang pointed at Katara, motioning for Zuko to help her fight off the rest of the stone soldiers as he fought the urge to do it himself.

He dropped into the center of the room where Toph and Bumi were moving at blinding speeds. Aang slipped in front of Toph, pushing her out of the fight and out of danger as he easily deflected Bumi's attacks.

"Is that you Aang?" Bumi yelled over the noise of the earthbending.

"What are you doing Bumi?"

"What am I doing? I'm defending myself!" the grin on his face didn't fade for a second. Aang groaned and stopped moving. He turned away from Bumi and held up his hands.

"Everyone stop!" he yelled, using airbending to make his voice echo around the room a thousand times.

The fighting ceased instantly.

"See?" Bumi said. "I'm a pacifist by nature."

He dropped his arm over Aang's shoulder in a strange sideways hug. Aang looked at the damage and the huge statue of Toph.

"You're insane Bumi."

His only response was an excited giggle from the old man.

"So what was that about," Aang asked once everything had settled down. He couldn't stop looking at each of his friends in turn to try to get used to how different they looked.

"Bumi wants me to be the next ruler of the Earth Kingdom," Toph said simply. She was taller, but still only up to his shoulders. She was slender with lean muscle all over her body and the curves that Bumi had put in the statue were definitely not an exaggeration.

"King Kuei says he would prefer to live a life of peace with Bosco rather than rule a large portion of the world so he will be announcing his successor on his next birthday," Katara explained. She was the one Aang was having most difficulty looking away from.

_She's gotten more beautiful over the past five years._

"Well what does he say to that?" Aang asked.

"He thinks Toph is too hotheaded for the job," Zuko said. Aang noticed how frequently he looked out the window, as if checking to make sure Ryuu was still okay. It made Aang miss Appa, but he was sure Guru Pathik had been treating him well.

"Toph?" Sokka said in surprise. He threw his arms in the air. "Toph is hotheaded? When did this happen?"

The sarcasm earned him a punch in the arm, but Aang wondered if he could even feel it. Sokka had changed the most out of all of them. He was taller than Zuko, had the muscles of an earthbender and was even growing a bit of facial hair.

His friends were together again and Aang couldn't be happier. He cleared his throat.

"So what else is new?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three** – A Day of Surprises

Aang rose early, before the sun had risen. Zuko had returned home already, Katara was on her way to the Southern Water Tribe to meet with the Tribe Elders, Sokka was travelling to the Northern Water Tribe for a meeting about pirates and Toph would be busy rebuilding the palace with Bumi for a few days. It was time for Aang to be reunited with Appa.

Aang walked out onto the balcony where he could almost see the top of the city wall. Toph had ensured that this house would be kept for him for whenever he decided to come to the city. Upon hearing that, Zuko and Katara quickly made plans to arrange for homes for Aang in the Water Tribe and Fire Nation.

Aang dropped into a low stance and reveled in how much easier the process got every time he travelled by lightning. Within moments he was soaring through the sky once more.

When Aang landed at the Eastern Air Temple, he only had enough time to cover his face with his arms before Appa knocked him over with his massive tongue. Momo wasn't far behind and soon the three of them were all lying on the ground where Aang landed.

"How do you do Aang?" Guru Pathik said with a smile.

"Guru Pathik!" Aang yelled as he airbent himself off the ground so that he could stand. They bowed and Aang quickly grabbed the old man for a hug, which was lightly returned.

"You left here a boy and have come back a man," Pathik said. "Follow me; I have something I must show you."

The guru walked away without waiting for a response. Aang followed him after waiting for Momo to hop up onto his shoulder. They walked across the old air temple with Appa padding along behind them. Every once in a while he would nudge Aang with his nose and Aang would reach back to put a hand on him. They had been apart for so long.

They reached a divided path where Pathik stopped to think for a moment.

"A slight detour," he chimed. They took the right path and within moments they were in a large study. There were shelves with scrolls and a table with a map of the world on it. Aang got most excited when he saw his glider leaning against the wall.

"My glider!" Aang cried in excitement. Roku had told him that bringing it to his training would anger the spirits as it showed his attachment to one nation over the others.

"Yes I thought you might like to have it back," Pathik said. "Now we continue on."

They retraced their steps in order to take the path that they did not take before. They continued in silence for a short distance before Guru Pathik stopped abruptly.

"You must not be alarmed Aang. When you decide to begin repopulating the Air Nomads, these will be necessary."

A strange feeling entered Aang's stomach. Not only the thought of repopulating an entire nation, but something that would help him?

_I hope this doesn't turn awkward._

They stepped into a massive room that must have at one time been a library. In the very center of the room was what looked to be Appa?

_Appa?_

Aang turned around to make sure Appa was still behind him. The sky bison was, but when he saw himself in the center of the room he roared with delight. The second Appa roared in response and moved to meet them. Aang was speechless.

"Aang, I would like you to meet Eppie."

* * *

When Zuko landed, he went straight to Ryuu's mate and their eggs to make sure they were still okay. He had posted two guards nearby and they seemed fine. He walked past them and straight into the stables where the dragons were staying. Everything was fine and it wasn't until he had reassured himself that Zuko could breathe freely again. Saving a species from extinction was definitely the hardest thing he had ever done.

"Stay with them if you want Ryuu," Zuko said. He bid his dragon farewell and walked out of the stables. The two guards bowed as he walked by but Zuko ignored them.

By the time he reached the palace, the sun was beginning to set. He stepped in the palace entryway and was instantly met with the worried face of his assistant.

"Firelord Zuko," she said breathlessly. "I have a letter for you."

Zuko accepted the scroll and tucked it under his arm. The shocked look on his assistant's face said clearly that he was supposed to read it on the spot.

"I don't understand you On Ji," Zuko sighed. He broke the seal and slid the scroll open, his heart thumping at the strangely familiar handwriting.

_Turn around Zu-Zu._

"Forgive me Firelord," On Ji whispered as they were ambushed. Something hit Zuko hard on the side of the head and the world instantly went black.

* * *

Sokka twiddled his thumbs as he waited for the meeting to begin. He had been trying to avoid this meeting for too long and it had finally caught up with him. Now he was on the boat that belonged to the general that he liked the least.

_A good host should offer his guests meat._

Moments after that thought crossed his mind, a fellow general walked into the room. The Water Nation had flourished since Aang defeated Ozai and this general was one of the few who had been bumped up simply because there was extra space available.

"General Sokka," General Kinto said. "I've been hoping you would come to me sooner than later, but all in all I'm glad you're here."

"Sure sure," Sokka said. "Now why am I needed to deal with a bunch of pirates?"

"We need your abilities as a tactician. The pirates have eluded us frequently due to the fact that they are all master waterbenders."

"All of them? Sounds fishy," Sokka said. He let his joke hang in the air for a moment before deciding that Kinto had no sense of humor.

"I-," Kinto began but a knock on the door cut him off.

A low ranking soldier walked in and bowed to his superiors.

"It is confirmed sir," the soldier said. He handed Kinto a scroll, making Kinto smile widely. Sokka straightened up; trying to determine the seal on the scroll but it was one he had never seen before.

"Well General Sokka," Kinto said as he stood up. Sokka rose as well, but remained cautious. The glint in Kinto's eye was less than encouraging.

"What's going on?" Sokka asked. Kinto hesitated for a moment before kicking a barrel nearby that was filled with water. Instantly, he waterbent the water so that it slammed into Sokka and froze him to the wall.

"Let's move," Kinto said. "If his sister hasn't been captured yet we need to be off the map for a while."

"Wait!" Sokka yelled as Kinto left the room. He strained against the ice, but it wouldn't budge. "No!"

* * *

Toph sat alone in the park. Every muscle in her body ached from repairing the palace. She knew that the Earth King had exaggerated just how extravagant the palace had been, but she was fine with him overworking her. It gave her something to do without having to think about the possibility of becoming the Earth Queen. It wasn't that she wouldn't enjoy the power, but she was already always alone; becoming the queen would only make matters worse.

Toph got to her feet when she felt the man approaching. The man was approaching her carefully.

"Tell me what you want or get away," Toph growled. The man froze, almost as if in fear.

"I had heard you were the greatest earthbender," he finally said. Toph laughed.

"Don't challenge me or I'll make you regret it."

The man didn't challenge her. He simply began attacking. Toph slid away and quickly got behind the man. She noted his potential to be a skilled earthbender, but he had not mastered the art of waiting. Instead he just wanted to swing his big hammers and crush everything in sight.

Toph stepped back to let one of his attacks slide by harmlessly, but that was when she realized her mistake. The man had not been attacking her to prove himself, but to distract her senses. She tripped over something hard and fell backward.

Her back hit the ground roughly, but when she realized she couldn't see any vibrations she knew she had been tricked. She tried to get up but a lid was slammed down on the wooden box she had fallen into, preventing her escape.

"Let me out you cowards!" she yelled, but she knew it was no use. She cursed herself for being so stupid. She had deflected countless sneak attacks, but she was just so tired! When she got free she was going to make the Earth King pay for making her work so hard that day.

* * *

**I was going to add a section for Katara but it's pretty much the same thing as Sokka's. Get on a boat, talk to someone less than friendly, find out she was tricked. Only difference is she would be travelling to the Southern Water Tribe whereas Sokka was just going to a meeting. Thanks to everyone for reading, let me know what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four** – We Need the Avatar

"Eppie?" Aang asked.

_Pathik has gone crazy!_

"Yes Aang. Eppie is Appa's genetic copy."

"How did that even happen?" Aang asked. He felt dizzy. Pathik motioned for him to sit, noticing how dizzy he looked.

"Aang, this will be very strange for you to hear," Pathik said. "You must accept what I say as truth and know that I only did this to return balance where balance was lost. Just as the dragons have been reborn, so now have the sky bison been given new hope in Eppie and Appa. I took Appa's chi and copied it Aang. I have a limited talent with energybending so I was able to manipulate it slightly in order to fit the requirements of a female sky bison."

"You cloned Appa?" Aang snapped. He felt his body temperature rising more and more as Pathik continued with his story.

"I made a _generic copy_ Aang," Guru Pathik said. He did not seem nervous about Aang's anger, but instead seemed as calm as always. "There is a cost Aang and I do need Appa to stay with me a little bit longer to complete the process."

"Cost?" Aang nearly spat. He felt the world seem to shift and he knew he was losing control. Pathik acted as if Aang was nothing more than a child who didn't understand why he was being punished.

"Appa's life has been shortened Aang," Pathik said. He hesitated for a moment before finishing with, "By half."

Aang snapped. The change was so fast that Aang didn't even realize he was standing until he was already on his feet. He held Pathik in front of him with airbending, keeping him suspended off the floor. Appa and Eppie roared their disapproval but did not move forward to help the old man.

"It can all be reversed Aang," Guru Pathik said softly, as if Aang crushing him with airbending was completely normal. "That is why I did not progress any further into the process."

Aang's grip loosened slightly. Pathik's face remained passive, but the release of pressure on his frail old body was obvious.

"Tell me," Aang demanded with the voice of a thousand avatars.

"Consider these things Aang," the guru said. "Keeping yourself and Appa alive in the iceberg cost you much of your own life force. Because of that, it is likely that Appa will outlive you no matter what we do, but with Eppie his life force would be cut in half. You two would live together and die very close together and when you are gone, Aang," Pathik said. Aang loosened his hold a little more. "The airbenders that you raise will have the descendants of Appa to guide them. If you make me reverse this now, Appa will live long past you and will have no descendants. His line will vanish!"

_The sky bison are where airbending originated. Without the origin, the true art is lost._

Aang released Pathik as he fell out of the avatar state. He dropped to his knees and bowed to the old guru.

"Forgive me," he begged, unable to look Pathik in the face.

"Stand Aang," the old man said. "Stand and be forgiven. My work with Appa will not take long so go find yourself your own generic copy and begin repopulating the Air Nomads."

* * *

General Iroh, also known as the Dragon of the West, and secretly referred to as a Grand Lotus, sat in a dimly lit room with only three other men and one woman. The situation was very grim, and Iroh was taking the loss of his nephew personally.

"The first thing we need to decide," said Master Pakku, to his left. "Is where the avatar is."

"The avatar has likely abandoned us. He has all the power in the world," a surly voice said. The man was actually an old spirit that had spent a lot of time with them lately. The Water Nation woman to his left was apparently his lover. Iroh shuddered at the thought. The only name that the spirit had given them was Cobra.

"I do not think the avatar would abandon us," Iroh said firmly.

"I agree," the waterbender said. She took her lover's hand for support. The third man had never spoken but he had proven himself to be a legendary earthbender, rivaling the skills of Toph Bei Fong.

_I wonder how the Jasmine Dragon is doing without me._

Iroh scolded himself for getting distracted. He mused at how repetitive White Lotus meetings had gotten over time.

"What do you think we should do General Iroh?" Pakku asked. Iroh knew what the waterbending master was thinking.

"We need to find the avatar. I believe I know where he is so I will go and tell him the situation."

"Of course," Pakku said. "If any of us can be trusted with such a task it is you."

* * *

Aang was soaring across the sky when he noticed the old man trying desperately to get his attention.

"It's Uncle Iroh!" Aang yelled as he let the lightning fade and began to fall. Only with the most precise airbending did Aang manage to land squarely in front of the old man.

"Good afternoon Avatar Aang," Iroh said. "I see that the rumors about your new method of travel are true." Aang blushed and shrugged it off. He sat down at Iroh's feet and smiled at the old man.

"How did you find me?" Aang asked which caused a loud laugh from Iroh.

"You think you can use the greatest firebending technique ever created and just go by unnoticed? Finding you is very easy for someone who can simply follow the trail of lightning across the sky."

"I suppose you have a point," Aang said. It felt so good to see Zuko's uncle again, but he knew bad news was coming.

"The Nations have fallen under attack," Iroh said, only barely holding back his tears. Aang jumped to his feet.

"Who was attacked?" Aang yelled.

"Everyone was attacked. There was a coup in the Fire Nation and Zuko is nowhere to be found. All of the top benders and generals of the Water Nation have gone missing and pirates are attacking constantly. The Earth Nation seems the most at peace, except for your young friend going missing."

"What about Katara and Sokka?" Aang asked, although he already knew. The two that had found him in the iceberg had always surpassed others and now they were the best at what they did. Iroh simply shook his head.

Aang didn't know what to do. All of his friends were gone, but he had no idea who to go after first. No matter what he did, he would be seen as picking favorites. His every fiber longed to tear Katara from whatever prison she was in, but the Fire Nation needed its Firelord as soon as possible.

"Who took the throne?" Aang asked. Aang had never seen Iroh's eyes as full of hatred as he looked away.

"Azula has returned." Aang's stomach twisted into knots at the thought of Azula rising to power.

"How soon could you summon forth the Order of the White Lotus?" Aang asked. "I want Pakku leading a force against the pirates, Bumi guarding the Earth King at all times, and I want you to return to the Fire Nation and finish Azula once and for all."

"Where will you go Aang," Iroh asked. "We need the avatar."

"Everything is connected," Aang said. "I am going to find my friends and then we are going to stop this mess. Have your White Lotus secure the Nations. My New Lotus will do the rest."

* * *

**Next chapter we see some very creative prisons, but are they capable of holding the gAang?**


End file.
